WT tuition increase sparks little concern for students

YANN RANAIVO

Tuesday

Feb 28, 2012 at 6:56 PM

West Texas A&M University officials took their proposal to raise next school year's tuition by $150 to students Tuesday at the main campus in Canyon.

WT plans to raise tuition to offset state budget cuts and cover expenses such as faculty and staff merit raises, higher lease payments at the school's downtown Amarillo location and teaching positions in two new engineering programs.

WT President J. Patrick O'Brien said raises are necessary to retain and attract faculty.

He said WT's faculty and staff make lower salaries than their counterparts at other universities.

"In addition to salary increase, we're looking at expenses we're going to be confronted with," he told students during a morning hearing at the Jack B. Kelley Student Center. "(In civil engineering), we've got to have a certain number of faculty for that program to remain accredited."

The proposed increase will raise about $1.6 million.

Tuesday morning's hearing was attended by about a dozen students, some of whom expressed no major concern about the proposed tuition hike.

Bryan Johnson, a junior civil engineering major who attended the hearing, said he pays less at WT than at a community college he previously attended in New York. He said he paid $2,100 per semester at his previous school but pays less now at WT with the help of scholarships.

"For me, I don't think it's a bad idea," he said about the proposed tuition hike. "And I think it's a good idea that he's focusing on engineering majors."

Nick Goettsche, vice president of WT's student government, said students generally don't like tuition hikes. But he said he understands the need to offset budget cuts and fund other important university functions.

"We need to do what we need to do," he said. "If it benefits the students, we need to hold our nose and go with it."

Brenton Thurber, a junior who didn't attend the meeting, said $150 doesn't seem like much when it's factored into WT's total cost of tuition and fees.

"I'm on financial aid, and that should cover that pretty well," he said, adding that he uses loans to pay for school.

Mariela Mendoza, a sophomore majoring in education, said the tuition hike can be covered by a small scholarship.

"But scholarships are kind of hard to get," she said. "As college students, you know you have other expenses to take care of."

The Texas A&M University System board of regents plan to take action on WT's proposed tuition increase in May. WT's tuition this school year was the same as last year's.

Gary Barnes, WT's vice president of business and finance, said the university wants to set aside $1.6 million next year for merit raises. He said the increase would help fund that amount.

"That's to be sure we keep our faculty and staff," he said.

But Barnes said he's still not completely sure about whether WT will be able to set aside $1.6 million for faculty and staff raises.

Last year the Texas Legislature approved $26.7 million for WT this school year, down from $30.9 million last year, according to figures presented Monday. Lawmakers approved $26.5 million for WT for the 2012-13 school year.

The average annual salary for WT's assistant, associate and full professors is $63,867, according to university figures from the summer. In contrast, the average salary for those same positions at similar-sized schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana is $71,114, according to 2010-11 data.

WT's in-state undergraduate tuition is $152 per semester credit hour, with $102 of that charged by WT and $50 by Texas. An undergraduate Texas resident enrolled in 15 semester credit hours pays an estimated $3,215 when other student fees are included, according to figures on the university's web site. Tuition revenue makes up a third of WT's total budget.

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